Apparatus for gapping slide fasteners



Oct. 24, 1961 J. E. BURBANK 3,005,581

APPARATUS FOR GAPPING SLIDE FASTENERS Filed May 18, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I O lhlll ml" HIIIII" INVENTOR JOH N E. BURBAN K H is ATTOAQNEYS 0st. 24, 1961 J. E. BURBANK APPARATUS FOR GAPPING SLIDE FASTENERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 18, 1956 lNVENTOR JOHN E. BURBAN K BY W .6.-

HIS ATTORNEYS Oct. 24, 1961 J. E.'BURBANK 3,005,581

APPARATUS FOR GAPPING SLIDE FASTENERS Filed May 18, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIGS.

4- //5 His ATTORNEYS Get. 24, 1961 J. E. BURBANK APPARATUS FOR GAPPING SLIDE FASTENER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 18, 1956 INVENTOR JOHN E.E URE ANK BY W. W $441M H ISATTORNEYS FIGB.

suitable for use as slide fasteners.

Patented Oct. 24., 1961 3,005,581 APPARATUS FOR GAPPING SLIDE FASTENERS John E. Burbank, Stamford, Conn, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Cue Fastener, Inc, a corporation of New York Filed May 18, 1956, Ser. No. 585,736 14 Claims. (Cl. 22594) This invention relates to apparatus for manufacturing slide fasteners, and it relates more particularly to apparatus for removing sections of the coils of coil type slide fasteners to divide lengths of the slide fastener material into shorter lengths suitable for use in slide fasteners.

Coil type slide fasteners of the kind referred to above have been made by forming pairs of coils of substantially continuous filaments in mating or meshing relationship, separating the coils and securing them to substantially continuous lengths of fabric and thereafter cut-ting the continuous coils and tapes into shorter lengths After the tapes and coils have been cut to a desired length, it is usual to cut and remove end portions of the coils, apply sliders to the coils and secure end stops to the tapes to form the completed fastener. Removal of the end portions of the coil sections is a time consuming operation and unless done with extreme care, results in the formation of opposed coil sections of unequal length. The consumption of time for this operation reduces production rates and increases production costs.

Some other methods of gapping disengage the two mating halves of the stringer which must then be reengaged which is a nuisance and other methods of gapping the stringer while disengaged tend to produce unequal matching of the coils of the two halves when they are re-engaged.

The present invention provides an apparatus by means of which sections from continuously formed coils can be severed and removed while the coils are mated, thereby to assure that the removed sections are of the same length and the remaining portions of the coil which form the locking elements of the finished fastener are of equal length and are properly related to each other, without being at all disengaged from each other.

More particularly, the new apparatus includes spaced apart punching elements which punch through the mated coils at spaced apart zones to sever an interposed section of each coil from the remainder of the coils and it further includes gripping elements which seize the severed portions of the coils and withdraw them from the loops of thread by means of which they are secured to the tape or other material. The length of the severed section can be accurately controlled by adjusting the spacing of the punches. 'Ihe over-all length of the individual fasteners formed from the continuous fastener material can be regulated by drawing the tape through the machine a greater distance between each punching and coil removing operation.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a broken front elevational View of an apparatus embodying the present invention for cutting and removing sections of coil from a coil type fastener;

FIGURE 2 is a broken side elevational view of the apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a view in vertical section of a portion of the apparatus taken on line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a view in cross section of the apparatus taken on line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the arrangement of the punches for severing the coil sections;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a portion of a coil type fastener material after punching to separate portions of the coil;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the elements for gripping and removing severed sections of the coil shown in separated relation; and

FIGURES 8, 9, l0 and 11 illustrate schematically the action of the gripping members in removing the severed sections of the coils.

One form of apparatus for severing and removing sections of a coil fastener, i.e., gapping the fastener, is illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 4 of the drawings. The form of apparatus illustrated is adapted to remove sections of the coils from a substantially continuous piece of coil fastener material made up of pairs of tapes T and T to which are secured spirally formed coils C and C of the type generally disclosed in the Wahl US. Paten-t No. 2,300,442. Such coil fastener material is formed by shaping filaments of plastic or similar material around a mandrel so that the coils are in mating relation and thereafter securing the coils to tapes or the like by means of a stitching or sewing operation or the like. The particular method by means of which the coil type fasteners are formed is not important to the present invention, except insofar as it preferably is a continuous operation so that the tapes T, T, coils C, C can be fed continuous'ly to the apparatus or in long lengths from which individual shorter slide fasteners are to be formed.

The gapping apparatus It) may be of a type which can be mounted on a floor or on a table or other platform and it includes a frame comprising a base plate 11 having a pair of front uprights 12, 12 and a pair of rear uprights 13, 13 secured to it and extending upwardly and supporting a platform 14 in spaced relation to the base plate. The platform 14 is provided with a supporting block 15 formed of steel or the like, and the block 15 and the platform 14 have centrally located openings 16 and 17 therein for a purpose to be described.

Superimposed over the block 15 are a pair of guide plates 18 and 19 which have undercut recesses 20 and 21 therein providing a gap through which the fastener material is fed. As shown in FIGURE 3, the plate 19 is supported at its outer edge by means of a plate 22 extending along the forward edge of the platform 14, while the guide plate 18 is supported by means of spacer blocks (not shown) in such relation to the plate 19 as to provide a gap or slot 23 between their opposed edges. The plates 13 and 19 are also provided with generally centrally located rectangular notches 24 and 25 for a purpose to be described. The supporting plate 15 and the guide plates 18 and i9 enable the slide fastener material to be drawn between them by means of a power driven roller 26 to one side of the gapping apparatus it The power-driven roller can be controlled by any suitable means to draw a predetermined length of the slide fastener material endwise and then to stop to permit gapping of the fastener material. The slide fastener material is advanced and stopped intermittently and the length of the finished fasteners is regulated by varying the distance the fastener material is advanced.

In accordance with the present invention, and as illustrated in FlGURE 6, it is desirable to cut through both sections of the mating coils C and C to define a length of severed meshed coil sections C" which are to be re moved. To that end, a pair of generally rectangular metal punches 3i? and 31 (FIGS. 1 and 5) are provided which are so located as to pass through the meshed or mated coils C and C, as described. The punches 3G and 31 are the ends of cylindrical rods 32 and 33 which are slida-bly guided in guides 34 and 35 fixed to the platform 14 and overlying the guide plates 18 and 19 on opposite sides of the notches 24 and 25 in the guide plates as shown in FIG. 4. A cross head 36 supports the rods 32 and 33 and is connected to the armature 37 of a solenoid 38 motor including a solenoid coil 39. The solenoid 38 motor includes a framework 40 formed of laminated strips of metal which is mounted on top of a cross plate 41 which, in turn, is supported on front and rear pairs of uprights 42 and 43 secured to an upper platform 44 which extends in generally parallel relation to the platform 14 and is supported in fixed relation thereto by means of front and rear pairs of columns 45 and 46 fixed to the top of the platform 14. Movement of the punches 3G and 31 is produced by energizing the solenoid coil 39 so that the armature is driven downwardly to punch through and cut the coils C and C. The lower ends of the punches pass into slots 511 and 51 in the supporting plate 15 to remove and eject the severed portions of the coils through the diverging passages 52 and 53 in the platform 14, as shown in FIGURE 1. The punches are normally biased upwardly by means of a coil spring 54 interposed between the cross head 36 and the upper platform 44, the spring being received in a recess 55 in the cross head and in a cylindrical recess 56 formed in the platform 44 and a spacer plate 57 fixed to the top of the platform. Downward movement of the cross head 36 is limited by the spacer plate 57 and the shock absorbing washers 57a on top of it.

After punching of the coils to separate the sections C", as shown in FIGURE 6, the apparatus includes means for disconnecting the severed sections C from the tapes T' and T. The disconnecting means includes a pair of gripping elements 60 and 61 which are disposed when in repose above and below the path of the tape through the recesses 21 and 22 of the guide plates. The upper gripping member may consist of a bar of metal or the like having a generally flattened upper end 62 which is secured by means of screws to a supporting bar 63 that is supported on and movable with a pair of rods 64 and 65 slidably mounted in the lower platform 14 and the upper platform 44. The lower ends of the rods are connected to a cross bar 66 disposed below the platform 14 and limited in its motion toward the platform 14 by means of an adjustable stop member 67. The bars 63 and 66 with the interconnecting rods 64 and 65 form a subframe on which the gripping members 69 and 61 are supported for relative and simultaneous movement. The lower gripping member 61 is carried indirectly by means of the cross bar 66. Supported on the cross plate 66 is a motor such as the air cylinder 68 having a diaphragm 69 therein for displacing a plate member 70 on top of the diaphragm which carries the lower gripping member 61 for movement axially of the cylinder. A sleeve 71 on the upper end of the cylinder 68 is received in an open ing 70a in the right-hand end of the cross plate in alignment with the upper gripping member 68, the sleeve 71 being retained by means of set screws or the like, and serving as a bushing or bearing for guiding the lower gripping member 61. A spring 75 interposed between the top of the cylinder and the plate 70 normally biases the lower gripping member 61 away from the upper gripping member, and an air connection 76 which enables air to be admitted below the diaphragm forces the lower gripping member 61 toward the upper gripping member 60 to thereby grip between them the central or mid-portion of the severed section C" of the mated coils. An air entrance 77 is also provided in the cylinder above the diaphragm 69, so that air pressure can be used to assist the spring. As shown in FIGURE 7, the upper gripping member 60 and the lower gripping member 61 are of a novel conformation. A groove 78 is formed in the midportion of the lower gripping member 61 and it has generally straight but blunt ridges 79 and 80 on opposite sides of it. Inclined surfaces 81 and 82 converge toward the ridges 79 and 80. The upper gripping member 60 also has a similar configuration but on a smaller scale. Thus the upper member also has a centrally lo cated groove 83 and converging side faces 84 and 85 defining gripping ridges 86 and 87 on opposite sides of the groove. The ridges 86 and 87 on the upper member are spaced apart a somewhat shorter distance than the ridges 79 and 80 so that when the coil sections are gripped, they are squeezed inwardly and together thereby preventing them from slipping out from between the gripping elements 60 and 61.

Also cooperating with the gripping members as shown in FIGURE 3, are a pair of spring guide plates 90 and 91 which are fixed to the opposite sides of a Wedgeshaped block 92 which has a centrally located hole 93 therein for receiving slidably the lower gripping mern her 61. The inclination of the spring members 90 and 91 is such that they rest against the inclined surfaces 81 and 82 when the lower gripping member is retracted. They are further biased toward each other by means of supplemental spring plates 94 and 95 overlying them (FIG. 3). Supports for the triangular block 92 are carried by the cross bar 66 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. These supports include a pair of guide plates 97 and 98 which are fixed to opposite sides of the cross bar 66 and are provided with elongated slots 99 and 100 for receiving the guide pins 161 and 102 extending outwardly from opposite ends of the triangular block 92. The arrangement of the pins and slots permits limited movement of the biock 92 and the springs 90 and 91 with the lower gripping member so that upon upward movement of the latter, the springs can engage the undersurface of the slide fastening material and spread the beads B, B thereon apart to enable the two gripping elements 66 and 61 to come into contact with the coils and not engage the tape as shown in FIG. 9.

With the coil sections C gripped between the gripping members 66 and 61, the sections are detached from the tapes T, T by downward movement of the sub-frame carrying the gripping members 66 and 61 and the severed section of the tape. Movement of the sub-frame is produced by means of a fluid or other motor such as air cyl inder 119 which is supported at its lower end by the base plate 11 and has a piston rod 111 connected at its upper end by means of a hinge or pivot connection 112 to the lower end of the rod 64. Inasmuch as the rod 64 is slidable relative to the platforms 14 and 44, and the cross bars 63 and 66 of the sub-frame are movable with the rods 64 and 65, downward movement of the piston will cause the gripping members 60 and 61 to move downwardly together relative to the platform 14 and the tape thereon. The tape is not drawn inwardly by means of the gripping members 60 and 61 because it is clamped in position by clamping rods 115 and 116 which press against the upper surface of the fastener material and force it against the supporting block 15. However, limited movement of the fastener material between the rods 115 and 116 is permitted to enable the coil section C to be disengaged from the tape and to allow the tape to be moved slightly into a position best suited to release the severed section C" of the coils.

Motion of the clamping bars 115 and 116 is, in part, responsive to motion of the gripping elements so that the clamping bars 115 and 116 are effective to hold the tape during removal of the severed section C" of the coil and to release the tape and fastening element thereafter to allow the fastener material to be advanced. To that end, the clamping bars 115 and 1 16 are secured at their inner ends to a cross bar 117 which is mounted on a pair of vertical rods 118 and 119 guided at their lower ends in recesses 12!) in the platform 14 and at their upper ends in aligned apertures 121 in the upper platform 44. A cross bar 122 connects the upper ends of the rods. 118 and 119. Coil springs 123 and 124 are mounted around each of the rods 118 and 119 and interposed between the lower cross bar 117 and the undersurface of the platform 44. In this way, the springs 123 and 124 are compressed and normally tend to force the rods 115 and 116 against the opposite ends of the block 15. Retraction of the gripping rods is accomplished by means of a pin 125 (FIGS. 1 and 3) slidably mounted in the platform 44 and having its lower end engageable with the upper surface of the cross plate 63 and its headed end disposed below the cross-bar 122. The pin 125, therefore, permits the cross-bar 122 to drop until the upper end of the rods 115 and 116 engage and grip the fastener material as the cross-bar 63 moves down. Pin 125 lifts the cross-bar 122 and the gripping rods 115 and 116 when the supporting-bar 63 rises to its highest position. Thus, the gripping rods 115 and 116 are out of contact with the fastener material when the grippers 60 and 61 are separated and in their highest position and it is only then that the material may be moved along through the machine.

For a better understanding of the operation of the grippers in removing the severed sections of the coil from the fastener material, reference may be had to FIGURES 3 and 8 to 11 of the drawings. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 8 when the lower gn'pper 61 is forced upwardly by the air cylinder 68, it lifts the spring fingers 9i) and 91. Upward movement of the spring fingers 90 and 91 is limited by the pin and slot connections 99, 100, 101, 192, between the cross-bar 66 and the supporting block 92 for the fingers so that continued upward movement of the gripper 61 will spread the fingers 90 and 91 apart thereby pushing aside the beads B, B on the fastener and exposing the coils C, C toengagement with the upper and lower grippers 60 and 61 as shown in FIGURE 9. The upper gripper 60 also forces aside the upper beads B" and B' due to upward movement of the fastener material as a whole, thereby squeezing the coil sections C" tightly into the grooves 78 and 83 in the gripping elements 61 and 60. Downward movement of the gripping elements 60 and 61, as shown in FIG- URES 10 and 11 will break some of the threads joining the severed sections C of the coils, C, C while the remainder of the severed section will slide out of the thread [loops to thereby free them from the tapes. Continued downward movement, as illustrated in FIGURE 11, will completely detach the severed coil sections C" from the tapes, the tapes being deflected downwardly somewhat during the operation.

At the bottom of the movement of the gripping elements, the pressure in the cylinder 68 is relieved with the result that the lower gripper member is retracted by the spring 75, releasing the removed severed sections which may then be ejected by an air blast or in any other suitable way.

The complete sequence of operations in the apparatus, involves advancing the fastener material by means of the roll 26, then stopping the tape material while the solenoid 38 is energized to drive the punches and 31 downwardly through the coils C and C' to sever the sections C". Immediately upon retraction of the punches, air is admitted to the cylinder 68 forcing the lower gripping member 61 upwardly to grip the mid-portion of the severed section of the coils between the gripping elements 66 and 61. The gripping elements 60 and 61 then move downwardly together by actuation of the cylinder 110 to disengage the severed section from the tapes. Air pressure is then relieved in the cylinder 68 to separate the gripping members 60 and 61 so that the severed sections of the coil can be discharged downwardly. The cylinder 110 is then actuated to move the gripping members upwardly to their initial position and at the same time restoring the clamping rods 115 and 116 to their elevated position to enable the roller 26 to draw another length of the tape material through the apparatus.

Suitable manual or automatic controls can be provided for actuating the apparatus in the sequence of operation indicated, and it is also possible to provide a control operated in response to the rotation of the power-driven roller 26 to enable automatic supply of the fastener material to the gapping machine thereby to cut slide fasteners of a predetermined length automatically. Adjustment may also be provided enabling the length of the fastener to be varied to produce fasteners of different lengths as may be required.

While the preferred form of apparatus is described herein, it will be understood that there may be variations made in the apparatus and in the arrangement and relationship of the parts, as well as the actuating means therefor. Accordingly, the forms of the invention described herein should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for gapping slide fastener material having a pair of mated coils with slider guide beads at their outer edges and said coils being secured to strips of fabric, comprising a frame, means on said support for guiding and supporting an elongated piece of said slide fastener material, a pair of spaced-apart punching elements, means on said frame for guiding said punching elements into engagement with the coils of said fastener material to sever mated sections from said coils, means on said frame for moving said punching elements to sever said coils, a pair of relatively movable gripping members mounted on said frame for movement substantially transversely of said strip of fastener material between said punching elements and for movement relative to each other, means on said frame for moving said gripping ele ments relative to each other to grip said severed sections between them, and means for moving said gripping means simultaneously transversely of said strip of fastener material to detach the severed sections therefrom.

2. An apparatus for gapping slide fastener material including a pair of mated coils comprising a frame, a platform fixed to said frame for supporting a strip of slide fastener material, a pair of spaced apart punches slidably mounted on said frame for movement toward and away from said platform to sever a section from said mated coils, means on said frame for moving said punches toward and away from said platform, a pair of gripping members mounted on said frame for movement relative to said platform and extending between said punches and toward said platform from opposite sides thereof, one of said gripping members also being mounted for movement relative to the other, means mounted on said frame for moving said one gripping member relative to the other to grip said severed section between them, and means mounted on said frame for moving said gripping members simultaneously relative to said platform to detach said severed section from said fastener material.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 in which the means for moving said punches comprises an armature connected to said punches, and a solenoid coil mounted in said frame for moving said armature axially towards said platform.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 2. comprising a sub-frame mounted on said frame for movement relative to said platform, the means for moving one of said gripping means relative to the other comprising a motor mounted on said sub-frame, the other gripping member being fixed to and movable with said sub-frame, and the means for moving the gripping members simultaneously comprising another motor connected to said sub-frame and said frame.

5. Apparatus for gripping slide fastener material having a pair of strips of material and a pair of mated coils interposed between and detachably connecting said strips, comprising a frame, a platform on said frame for guiding and retaining a length of said fastener material, means mounted on said frame and movable toward and away from said platform for punching the mated coils at two points spaced apart lengthwise of said coils to sever a section of said mated coils from the remainder of said mated coils, means on said frame for moving said punching means toward said platform to sever said coils, a

pair of opposed gripping elements mounted on said frame and movable between said punching elements and movable relative to each other to grip the severed sections between them, means mounting said gripping elements on said frame for simultaneous movement in the same direction relative to said platform with said severed section gripped between them to detach it from said fastener material, and means on said frame for moving said gripping elements relative to each other to grip said severed sections and means for moving said severed sections simultaneously in the same direction.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim in which the means for moving the gripping elements comprises a first motor for moving said gripping elements relatively and a second motor for moving them simultaneously.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 comprising means mounted on said frame and movable with and relative to one of said gripping elements for engaging and spreading said beads apart to assure engagement of said gripping elements with said coils in response to relative movement of said gripping elements.

8. The apparatus set forth in claim 7 in which the means for spreading the beads apart comprise converging surfaces on the sides of one of said gripping elements adjacent to its end, a pair of converging resilient blades engaging said surfaces, means supporting said blades on said frame for movement with said one gripping element into engagement with the fastener material between said blades, said one gripping element being movable upwardly between said blades to move them and the beads on the fastener material apart.

9. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 comprising means mounted on said frame movable toward said supporting and guiding means to engage said fastener material on opposite sides of said severed section and retain the fastener material against endwise movement during simultaneous movement of said gripping elements to detach said section.

10. An apparatus for gapping slide fastener material having a pair of strips of material releasably connected by a pair of mated coils, comprising a frame having fixed lower and upper platforms thereon, means on said lower platform for guiding and supporting a length of fastener material across said platform, a pair of punches supported on said frame for movement toward and away from said lower platform to out said mated coils at two points spaced apart lengthwise of said coils, a motor for driving said punches mounted on said upper platform, a sub-frame having relatively fixed upper and lower sub-frame members mounted in said frame for up and down movement, the upper sub-frame member being disposed between said platforms and the lower sub-frame member being disposed below the lower platform, gripping members mounted on said upper and lower sub-frame members and extending toward said lower platform between said punches to engage and grip the mated coils between the cuts therein, a motor mounted on one of said sub-frame members to move one of said gripping elements relative to the other to grip and release the mated coils, and a motor for moving said sub-frame and the gripping elements therein up and down relative to said platforms.

11. The apparatus set forth in claim 10 in which the motor for moving the punches comprises a solenoid coil and an armature movable relative to said coil.

12. The apparatus set forth in claim 10 in which the motors for moving said one gripping member and the sub-frame are fluid-actuated motors.

13. The apparatus set forth in claim 10 comprising means responsive to downward movement of said subframe for engaging and holding said fastener material on opposite sides of said two out points.

14. The apparatus set forth in claim 10 comprising means responsive to downward movement of said subframe for engaging and holding said fastener material on opposite sides of said two out points, and means responsive to upward movement of said subframe to release said fastener material for movement relative to said lower platform.

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